The Prime Minister launched his 'Narendra Modi Mobile App' to provide
instant updates and an opportunity to receive messages and emails
directly from him.
The PM shared the news via twitter. He tweeted, "Launched 'Narendra Modi Mobile App'. Come, lets stay connected on the mobile!"
"The Mobile App has several innovative features. You can download it
from Play Store. Feedback is welcome. http://nm4.in/nmandroidapp," said
Modi.
The app would also have an infographics section, and
would also have ample information on the initiatives and achievements of
the BJP government. Besides, the users can also listen to the famous
radio sessions of "Mann Ki Baat" using the android-based app.
The application is also aimed at giving a chance to people to interact with him and share ideas and suggestions.
You can down the App from Play Store to use several innovative features. (Image: PIB)
Here's some bad news for Android users. Security researchers have discovered 100+ more apps that fail to encrypt
your login data properly, making it frightfully easy for hackers to
steal your password. What's worse: the vast majority of the app makers
aren't doing anything about it.
The specific issue, an HTTPS vulnerability, is hardly a new problem. In fact, we've known for years
that Android apps are susceptible to this issue, and that it puts
users' private information in jeopardy. So it's not really news that
it's still around.
What might surprise you is that the list of
affected apps includes include popular services like Match.com, NBA Game
Time, Safeway, and-get ready-Pizza Hut. So if you've been ordering delicious hot dog pizza crust pizza from the Hut
with your phone, you should change your password right now. You should
also probably stop using these apps until you know they've been fixed.
Don't freak out too much: It's not all Android apps that suffer from
this vulnerability. Security researchers say these apps have been
downloaded over 200 million times so that's 200 million opportunities
for hackers to steal passwords... but that's not a lot in the grand
scheme of things.
Earlier this year, a batch of apps that had been downloaded over 350 million times were identified as being similarly insecure. (OkCupid was among them.) Faulty encryption was also the cause of a mobile security shake up back in 2012.
So it's not like app makers don't know that HTTPS vulnerabilities are a
problem. It's pretty infuriating that they're not doing anything about
it, though.
For a more detailed account of the so-called "Game-over HTTPS defect," watch the video above or check out the comprehensive coverage in Ars Technica. You could also try downloading AppBugs from
the Play Store to see if you have any dangerous apps, but fair warning:
though that app is made by the same security researchers who brought
these latest vulnerabilities to light, we haven't actually tried it
ourselves to see if it's any good.
That void in your life ever since the departure of the official
Flappy Bird game could be about to disappear. Dong Nguyen, the creator
of the hugely popular game, has released his second effort on the Google
Play Store and Apple App Store. The game is free on Android with unremovable ads, but on iOS ads can be removed for $1.29 (which is a lot to remove a few ads, if you ask us).
The reason Flappy Bird became crazy popular is the need to constantly
replay the game to better your score. It helped that the game was
frustratingly difficult, requiring total concentration if you want to do
well. Swing Copters is similar, as we had learnt earlier this week, but
the player moves vertically up. It’s very much like Ship Up, which ironically is a Flappy Bird clone with a twist. So it’s sad to see Nguyen make a comeback with such an hackneyed concept.
The difficult level in Swing Copters is amped up by several notches.
Thanks to hammers swinging under each opening, getting a point is that
much harder. That would have been a minor impediment to us racking up
high scores, but the biggest problem is the copter itself, which sways
wildly when the game starts forcing you to keep tapping on the correct
side to control the copter. In fact it seems comically skewed against
the player so you keep playing. Of course it could just be that the
learning curve is slightly higher than Flappy Bird, but if you were
hoping to recreate your Flappy success with Swing Copters, it’ll take
you a lot longer.
That also means that players could be spending a lot more time
playing Swing Copters than Flappy Bird. And considering that the latter
was pulled out by Nguyen for being too addictive and interfering with
people’s lives, Swing Copters could have an even shorter life.
Looks like Chinese device maker, Xiaomi, is taking its "Apple of the East" tag too literally. First, their CEO brazenly copies
Steve Jobs' signature look, sitting cross-legged on the floor and
everything. And now, Xiaomi's latest version of Android shamelessly rips
off iOS 7.
MIUI 6, which is Xiaomi's upcoming edition of
Android for its latest phones and tablets, looks almost exactly like
Apple's operating system for iPhones, iPads and the iPod Touch. It
features the same bright color palette and a flat design. Heck, it even
does away with Google's "app drawer" and puts all apps on your home
screen.
Check out some comparison screenshots below - MIUI is on
the left, iOS 7 is on the right - and judge for yourself. Then head
over to Xiaomi's official website for more.
I would be surprised if Apple doesn't call them out on this one.
The Home Screen
The Compass App
The Settings Menu
The Camera App
Images: Xiaomi, Apple
Ever wondered how much the weight of 10,000 open browser tabs is dragging down your laptop's battery? Fear not: AnandTech just dug into the particulars with a delightfully detailed test to find out which browser is the biggest battery hog. This information could save mankind('s laptop batteries).
You really should go read the entire test over at AnandTech-it
gives a great, in-depth look at how different browsers work, how
different settings affect page-loading speeds, and more. But here's the
bottom line: the number of minutes each browser cruised along before the
laptop's battery drained to 7 percent:
Of
course, your exact battery mileage may vary: AnandTech used a Dell XPS
15 laptop with a high-res display, and the actual number of minutes will
no doubt vary between manufacturers and OSes. But proportionally, this
gives a good idea of how Chrome (both the current stable build and the
beta), two versions of Explorer, and the latest Firefox stack up.
There is an app for pretty much everything, including ones that exercise
your gray cells and make you smarter. You use your mobile phone and
tablet for just about every purpose, so why not do it to stimulate your
mind? These 10 awesome apps will help not only strengthen your neural
networks and improve your cognitive function, but it will reduce your
risk of developing memory loss. Here goes!
NY Times Crosswords
The NY Times Crosswords is one of the most legendary crosswords of all
time. A crossword in itself is a challenging puzzle that improves your
intelligence and stimulates your brain power. With the NY Times
Crossword app, you can solve the same crossword puzzle that is published
each day in the newspaper. Subscribers also get to solve the next day's
crossword puzzle one day prior. This app is free to download and comes
with a one-week free trial of the official everyday puzzles from The New
York Times.
Lumosity
Want to hone your
memory and train your attention? Let Lumosity be your guide! This app,
created by neuroscientists, is especially designed to help you train
your brain in specific areas. All you have to do is choose an area that
you would like to challenge yourself on, such as memory or
problem-solving, and let the app decide on which training sessions it
thinks you need. When a person is using the app, it tracks alterations
in their memory, attention, speed, flexibility, and problem-solving
scores. This is a pretty addictive app and you will be sure to love it!
7 Little Words
7 Little Words is a fun, challenging, interesting app that is
unbelievably easy to learn. There are seven clues, seven mystery words,
and 20 letter groups in each puzzle. At times, you might find yourself
upon a roadblock, but so addictive is this puzzle that you won't be able
to put it down until you solve it. Frustrating and fun! Is there
anything better?
Owl
Owls are known to be
the wisest of God's creatures, and this app is rightly called so.
Everyday your Owl app will offer you facts that are both useful and
interesting. Each of the facts is handpicked from Reddit, meaning that
users get to learn something new every single day. You can customize
when your facts are delivered to your device, and whether you would like
to be notified about it or not.
Duolingo
Duolingo is fabulous if you are planning to learn a new language like
French, Spanish, German, Portuguese or Italian. One of the best things
about Duolingo is that it is free, without any ads or hidden charges.
The app allows users to translate a phrase into the language they are
trying to learn. Users can also invite their friends to interesting
language challenges with Duolingo. A study funded by the makers of the
app revealed that just 34 hours spent on Duolingo was equivalent to
around 11 weeks or one semester of a college language course.
Quora
Once you start using Quora, there will be no going back. Quora is a
great source of knowledge that allows you to ask questions about
different topics and get answers from people from all over the world.
You can even blog about stuff you know. The app is a powerhouse of all
kinds of information.
Georeader
Most of us
tend to follow a set routine everyday that doesn't leave us enough time
to stop and take notice of all the important markers around us. With
the Georeader app, any point of interest or historical marker is
automatically reads out loud to you as you walk or drive by. There are
more than 120,000 points of interest loaded on the app, which makes it
an ideal companion for a road trip.
QuizUp
The popularity of QuizUp needs no testament, mainly because every
single person in the world seems to have downloaded it. When the app
released, it was one of the most downloaded. It is a lot of fun to test
your skills against strangers and friends and earn quirky titles, but
also be prepared for a couple of glitches that most often show up, just
when you are about to win a challenge, that might make you consider
joining an anger management class. QuizUp has tons of categories to
choose from, right like history, geography, science, arts, languages,
food, television, books etc. and is a great place to hone your general
knowledge skills.
HowStuffWorks
HowStuffWorks gives users access to over 30,000 educational videos and
articles from both the HowStuffWorks archives as well as the Discovery
Channel. The categories range from history and technology to 'Stuff Your
Mom Never Told You'. You can also test your knowledge through quizzes,
questionnaires, facts and quotes.
Charge Your Brain
If you are a fan of logic games, then you will love the Charge Your
Brain app. This colorful mind-teaser is loaded with tons of mini-games
that improve your cognitive abilities and train your mind. The app is
designed to make your brain work more efficiently as each of the
mini-games are known to train different types of memory as well as
different parts of the brain. There are three modes (easy, normal, and
hard), and 13 mini-games so you will always be entertained.
Google Chrome seems to be taking the internet by storm, but do you
know everything it can do for you? Here is a list of ten… that we know
of now.
1. Generate Passwords
When running Chrome on Windows, Linux or Chrome OS, Chrome Flags will
fill in passwords for you when you open an account creation page. To
get started you will have to be signed in to your Chrome account (if you
don’t have one sign-up for it) and have your password manager enabled.
Visit the Flag site, chrome://flags, and find “Enable Password
Generation.” This tip will save you a lot of time at work!
2. Tab Overview
This Chrome feature will be familiar territory for Apple fans because
the Tab Overview flag uses MacBook’s trackpad to deliver a new way of
browsing for users. The “how-to” for your MacBook? All you need to do is
swipe three fingers down on the pad and there you go! All your open
tabs in a simple tile display just like the Mac feature many of us know.
Unfortunately, that means that this is only available on Mac.
3. Stack Your Tabs
Mac users aren’t the only ones who can reorganize their tabs for
easier viewing. Rather than using squashed tabs at the top of the
screen, why not stack them? Use a similar “how-to” as the Mac users –
type “about:flags” into the Omnibox and find “Stacked Tabs” on the Flags
page. Enable stacking tabs so that your tabs won’t shrink and they’ll
stack on top of one another as space runs out.
4. Post to Tumblr/Pinterest
We all have had that moment – you found the coolest post for your
Pinterest or Tumbler followers but don’t have time to sign in and post
it and there’s no pin it button. Now you can! There is a Post to Tumblr
extension allowing you to simply right-click on any image you want to
share.
5. Make Reddit Better
Reddit and Chrome go hand in hand really well. There are a ton of
extensions for improving Reddit’s appearance and performance on Chrome.
So, why haven’t you customized your experience yet? Try ‘Reddit
Companion’ to add an info bar to your browser to let you vote and view
comments at your convenience.
Photoshop
has a powerful programming language built-in that allows you to record
tasks as an 'action' and replay the steps to complete the task
automatically. Not only can you record your own, but you can also import
actions, opening up a whole range of effects and time-saving options.
Here we've rounded up some of the best Photoshop actions that are free
to download and install.
This simple action creates a beautiful blockbuster-film look,
heightening details in your photographs and increasing contrast, while
introducing a blue/green tint.
This quirky action from JonasFan93 creates a pseudo 3D anaglyphic image
by separating out colour channels within your image and offsetting
them. This freebie offers a number of different styles that are more
suitable for use in printed brochures and website design where you’re
aiming for a stylized effect.
If you’re after a toy-camera-style effect, this action produces just
that. Nice and simple to use, but very effective and convincing results
(similar to Instagram images) including over-saturated colours, bleeding
and heavy vignettes.
This set of actions creates hipstamatic-style images inside
Photoshop. The download includes three actions, each of which creates a
recognisable treatment including borders and noise.
This action adds a punchy high-contrast black & white effect to
your photographs. It produces a nice grittiness with heavy grain and
over-saturated blacks. Great for creating a stylized image.
This simple action is based on a tutorial on how to create a
convincing page curl effect in Photoshop, but with the action there’s no
need to take all the suggested steps - simple click and run for a handy
time-saving effect ideal for web designers.
This superb action offers a slightly more refined version of the
standard sepia effect by adding a contrast curve to age the final result
so that it feels like a faded photograph. Dramatic Sepia offers a great
way to communicate a sense of age.
This is another stylized photographic treatment that adds a filmic,
green-cast and heavily saturated shadows effect. The end result feels
both blockbuster-movie-like, and very fashion orientated.
This action requires a credit if you use it, but offers a very simple
way to convert a regular photograph into a stunning high-key portrait
with clean lines and an almost dreamy finish, without compromising
essential areas of contrast.
Quickly and easily whiten teeth with a natural-looking result with
this handy action from ModernActions. The script targets particular
tones, brightening off-whites for a simple way to achieve a more
pleasing set of gnashers!
The final stage of image preparation should be to sharpen your images
according to the final delivery method - you sharpen differently for
print or screen. This free action from MCP Actions offers a simple
one-click solution to sharpening, with the ability to control the degree
of sharpening that’s been applied after the fact by adjusting the
opacity and masking of layers.
This action adds a beautiful warmth to your photographs, bringing out
rich tones in hair and skin, and softening colours with a pink cast
that creates a romantic, nostalgic feel.
This simple set of actions allows you to quickly change the colour of
eyes in your photos. Choose from a set of different actions according
to the colour you’d like, and adjust for a final result. Great
time-saver when you need to alter eye colour.
Want to go 3D with Photoshop actions? Create sophisticated pseudo-3D
extrusions from text, shapes or layers with gloss and highlights using
this great tool.
Turn any image into a Polaroid instantly with one of 10 different
effects. Includes colour treatments and shadows automatically, and it's
one of those Photoshop actions you'll use again and again.
That's right: Photoshop actions can improve your skin! Skin Glow
Enhacements is an action that brings skin tones to life with a healthy
glow. Also has the effect of warming the entire image slightly, making
for a sun-kissed tone.
Photoshop actions are extremely useful for wedding photographers,
dealing with a huge number of shots. Here you get a set of eleven
actions that automatically create common portrait effects, especially
around the theme of wedding photography. Includes skin smoothing and
soft filter effects as well as b/w conversion.
This action uses contrast to find the edges in your image and
automatically render a pencil sketch effect. Start from a full-colour
image with no need to convert to black and white first.
The area between greyscale and colour is split toning and adding this
slight change to your photos can have a dramatic effect. You can also
create retro and abstract images with this technique.
Vintage Photoshop actions are extremely popular. This one applies
selective desaturation and colour correction to create a distinct
vintage feel to your images.
This action creates a heavily stylised vintage look, complete with
rough paper edges and cracking. Produces really beautiful results ideal
for retro-styled images.
Create round stickers with a curl in the corner, or polaroid-style
images with clear sticky tape holding it in place. Site requires free
registration to download action.
Automatically convert your text into a snazzy 1930s-style retro
treatment with shiny sequins and a nice 3D effect. It’s also easy to
adjust after running the action as all the layers are retained.
Good for: Graphic designers
There's more to shooting and photo editing on mobile than Instagram. We
select the best photo apps for iPhone, iPad and Android from cool
cameras to photo editor tools.
Instagram is a great app for sharing pictures and using as a photo
editor, but there are only so many hipster jokes you can listen to
before yearning for an alternative to those unmistakably garish filters.
So here is the definitive guide to the best photo apps around, covering
iOS (that's iPhone and iPad) and Android apps.
Some you won't have heard of, others you'll be more familiar with. None
are going to replace a DSLR and a couple of hours with a photo editor
like Photoshop CC, but they're all great at what they do...
PicLab HD is a nifty app for creating those inspiring images that you
get all over the internet these days. You know, the ones featuring a
photo - probably with at least one retro filter applied - with a helpful
aphorism layered over the top in an attractive, friendly typeface.
Yeah, those. PicLab HD makes them an absolute doddle, enabling you to
either snap a photo or grab one from your photo library, then go to town on it.
As well as adding typography - lots of fonts and full control over
size, positioning, opacity, rotation, and colour - you can also layer
illustrations, ornamentation and other design elements on top of your
image. PicLab HD features full layer-based editing and also packs plenty
of tools for making your original photo look its best, with loads of
lighting and film effects to choose from as well as preset photo filters
and adjustment tools for fine tuning the brightness, contrast,
exposure, saturation, and the blur level of your photos.
02. Sktchy
You'll either love or hate sketch-based community photo editor app Sktchy
Connecting with people around the world in a new way, here you can
choose from a selection of photographs, uploaded by the Sktchy community
and create a portrait from that image.
Sktchy co-founder Jordan Melnick comments: "Our community of artists
is growing every day because Sktchy is the perfect place for them to
find inspiration and share their art with the world, in part because of
the neat way we layer portraits over the photos that inspired them."
03. SnappyCam Pro
Using a burst of shots, you won't miss the perfect pic again
Are you always a second too late in capturing the perfect shot? Then
high-speed camera app SnappyCam Pro may be just the solution. Like a
DSLR, with SnappyCam you hold the hold the shutter button to take a
burst of photos, so you'll never miss the perfect shot.
Developed by founder of SnappyLabs John Papandriopoulos,
the app is super-fast, with the ability to capture up to 60 photos a
second, of which you can keep all or choose the best and delete the
rest. Images can be exported as animated GIFs and videos. And there's
also separate focus and exposure support for eligible devices.
04. Photoristic HD
Photoristic sits midway between basic native apps and expensive pro applications
Photoristic HD is an iPad image app that's just powerful enough to be
quite useful without overloading you with features that you don't
really want. It's all about the photo editor - it features standard
image adjustment tools (white balance, exposure, contrast, highlights,
shadows, vibrance and saturation), with additional colour controls, a
black and white mode, split toning and a hefty collection of presets for
Instagram-style quick fixes.
It's fast and easy to use and can handle images up to 20 megapixels,
and while they're not exactly giving it away it comes at a fairly
reasonable price for its no-nonsense set of genuinely useful photo
tools.
05. Photochop
Photochop - Chop Up and Distort Your Photos does exactly what it says on the tin
We probably like this app for its name (in full: Photochop - Chop Up
and Distort Your Photos) as much as for its function. It's a cheap and
cheerful little photo editor tool for mucking about with pictures.
Simply pick a snap from your iPhone's photo library, chop it up into a
set of tiles and then go crazy.
You can either work directly with the tiles, dragging them around,
rotating and resizing them to create a collage effect, or there's a warp
mode that works in the same way but results in a distorted image rather
than a collage. Obviously it's nothing you can't easily do in any image
editing app in a couple of minutes and you'll be hard pushed to find a
serious application for it, but it's a fun graphical toy to have in your
pocket.
06. Handy Photo
Handy Photo is all about the interface and photo editor tools
The selling point of photo editor Handy Photo is its interface, which
uses the corners of the screen to cater for rotating menu options. It's
all designed to keep the central area of the screen clear, allowing you
to use swipe gestures to tone your effects up or down, much like Luminance. It's a powerful photo editor; the UI isn't for everyone, but this is an amazing price for the effects you get. Tip: The Move Me tool enables you to clip out objects and move, resize or flip them.
Path On lets you add funky text to photos in unique ways. You draw
the path you'd like the words to take, then type in your message - the
text then flows along the path. The custom options are the real killer
feature here, with you being able to adjust the font, the letter space,
and the alignment. Although it's a little fiddly, Path On is probably
the best adding-text-to-photos tool around. Tip: The photo filters are best avoided.
08. Frametastic
Organise your photos and keep your memories in tact
Frametastic
is a tool for sharing the big picture; not just a moment but a memory.
It allows to you to have a creative outlet for organising the
photographic elements of your life whilst also allowing you to alter
your images with a set of colour filters. Kind of like Instagram but
more framey. iPad retina and iPhone 5 screen support has just been
added. Tip: For high resolution, 2000x2000px output, choose 'ultra resolution' on export.
09. Camera+
Camera+ is adored by iPad users and has subsequently arrived on iPhone - hooray!
The Camera app that comes on the iPhone by default is not brilliant:
yes, you can use it to take some decent shots, but it doesn't offer you
much creative control. This is where Camera+ excels. The app has two
parts: a camera and a photo editor, and it truly excels at the latter,
with a huge range of advanced features. Tip: Camera+ doesn't just limit you to editing new
pics - you can quickly import your existing photos into the Lightbox so
that you can breathe new life into them.
10. Facetune
Hide your blemishes, wrinkles and more with Facetune's photo editor
Embarrassed about your laughter lines? Feeling blue about those
blemishes? Fear not, Facetune is here! Grab a photo from your Camera
Roll and start your makeover; you can remove unwanted freckles,
blemished skin or hide bags under the eyes with Smooth; reshape that
wonky nose or misshapen jawline with, er, Reshape; and make subtle
tweaks of colour using Tone. The results of this photo editor are truly
impressive. Tip: You can share results over Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr - if you dare.
11. Geló
Persevere with Geló and the results will speak for themselves
A splash of colour can alter the look of an photo dramatically. Give
your iPhone shots some extra oomph with this cool app for the iPhone.
Gradients have become a lost art in iPhone photography, but Geló fills
that gap in the market well. It needs a little more patience than your
average photo app, but persevere and the results are excellent.
Once you've taken or imported an image, you see a carousel of 'gels'.
Cycle through to choose a colour, tap it, and then it’s applied to your
shot. Using the sliders you can tweak how the filter affects your shot. Tip: You can easily apply specific RGB values though, that might mimic your favourite tints in iPhoto or Photoshop, say.
If an app-maker claims on its website that its app "makes you
creative", incredulous eyebrows will be raised. But when the app is
FxCamera, the hugely popular and highly-rated photography and
photo-effects app from Bitcellar, you can take that bold claim a touch
more seriously.
The killer feature here is Voice Picture, which enables you record a
voice message at the same time as you are taking photos. This is done
via the on-screen shutter button which, when swiped to the right and
held down, allows you to create a kind of spoken caption for your image.
You can even share Voice Pictures on Facebook. Tip: You can use FxCamera as a normal camera and improve your images with its auto enhance feature.
A smart photo-compositing app that allows you to double up on your
images. Clone Camera lets you produce a 'photo' of a scene with the same
person in it multiple times. It's simply a case of taking up to four
photos of the same person in a different location, and then selecting
the areas you want to stitch together into the final photo. Tip: The app works best if you have a tripod, or can otherwise keep your device still
14. Retromatic
Retromatic can be frustrating at times but it portrays a great vintage feel
'50s-inspired photo app Retromatic enables you to import your photos,
cut them out using an instant alpha tool, and then apply vintage
effects to them. It’s quick and easy to use, and looks great, although
expect frustration if you want to do anything more than the basics. Tip: The instant alpha tool works well, but you have
to hold down on the screen to make it switch between a brush and
pinching to zoom
15. Photoshop Touch
Photoshop is running neck-and-neck with iPhoto to be named the iPhone’s best image editor
The Photoshop
family continues to grow, with its latest addition bringing the
formerly tablet-only Photoshop Touch to Apple and Android smartphones.
It's an effective re-imagining of Adobe's
killer desktop app, carrying over many of its most compelling features,
including layers and adjustments. One of the best image editors around. Tip: The app is bundled with 29 fonts for adding text to your photos, including Adobe Garamond Pro, Cooper Std Black and Myriad Pro.
16. Camera360
Camera360 offers a huge range of functions and no ads
Camera360 is a remarkable smartphone photo app. It's perfectly
self-contained with a huge range of functions, no ads and no insistence
in promoting paid content.
Touching the photo after applying a filter produces a nifty quick
comparison of the 'before' and 'after' versions. One drawback is that
the process of importing photos is slightly tedious, with one too many
clicks involved. Tip: Go to Enhancement > Night for a great filter to correct slightly dark or underexposed photos.
17. PhotoWonder
PhotoWonder has a good collage feature with multiple layouts and photo booth effects
Excellent user interface makes PhotoWonder one of the speediest
smartphone photo apps to use. It also has a good collage feature with
multiple layouts and photo booth effects. The filter selection isn’t
huge, but many are so well-designed that you’ll find them far more
valuable than sheer quantity from a lesser app. Tip: The Vintage filter works magic on photos of buildings or scenery. Combine with Sweety for a dreamy retro effect.
18. Vintage Deco
Vintage Deco is designed to give your images a retro scrapbook feel
Vintage Deco is a brand new iPhone photo app designed to give your
images a retro scrapbook feel. The filters are a bit clumsy and lean
towards Instagram, but there’s a lot of fun to be had by importing a
picture just to play around with the nostalgic stamps and borders. Tip: The Stamp section has some amusingly whimsical affirmations such as All you need is love…and a cat and Success is the best revenge.
19. Magic Hour Lite/Free
Magic Hour Lite has some brilliant filters and a tilt-shift function
The combination of subtle filters and tilt-shift function allows
Magic Hour Lite (called Magic Hour Free on Android) to produce some
truly unique results. The filters create effects that are far more
sophisticated than some of the tinted, overexposed pre-sets from other
apps.
Note that this photo app forces you to crop your image to a square,
which can either be a hassle or very convenient if you’re uploading to
Instagram. Tip: The Magic Hour filter gives
everything a lovely, soft luminescence. All filters seem to work best on
lighter images, such as those taken in daylight or pre-edited to reduce
underexposure.
20. LINE Camera
You can add text to your pictures in over 100 fonts and 20 colours
Sleek and easy-to-use, LINE Camera comes with a solid range of
filters, borders, icons and stamps. You can also add text to your
pictures in over 100 fonts and 20 colours, making this free smartphone
photo app one of the best for typography. Tip: Check out Stamp > Heart Symbol > Shine for a nice selection of kitschy sparkle brushes.
Tadaa lets you adjust the strength of all its filters, which is ideal
for people who like fine-tuning their photos with subtle effects. This
iPhone photo app tries to get you to use its own social network, but you
can still use all features without a login. Tip: Click on the frame icon to access a nice range
of photo film borders. Unlike Instagram and Magic Hour, you’re not
limited to a square and can apply the film border to a photo of any
size.
22. Rakuga Cute
Look beyond the cuteness and Rakuga Cute has some interesting features
At first glance this iPhone photo app seems aimed at Japanese
schoolgirls rather than discerning designers but Rakuga Cute actually
contains some unusual editing functions which makes it an interesting
addition to your photo repertoire. Tip: The Mosaic option lets you
selectively pixelate any part of a photo, quite useful for blurring out
license-plates, identities or should you feel so inclined, body parts as
well.
An extremely slick interface and witty copywriting makes iPhone and
iPad photo app Camera Awesome a delight to use. The functions and
filters are grown-up and sophisticated. The only inconvenience is that
in the process of editing a picture you’ll inevitably end up previewing
demo versions of paid-for features so there’s constant backtracking
involved if you want to stick with free content. Tip: The Awesomize button lets you brighten and sharpen a picture using one click, but still with the option of fine-tuning details if you wish.
24. Photoshop Express
Photoshop Express offers the sort of professionalism you'd expect from Adobe
As you would expect from Adobe, the interface and user experience of
the Photoshop Express photo app for Apple and Android devices is
faultless. It fulfils all the functions you need for picture editing and
will probably be the one you turn to for sheer convenience.
However none of the filters really jump out, and some are
surprisingly naff for an app that comes from the developer for
designers. Tip:Straighten and Flip are two useful functions not included in many other apps.
25. Photo Editor by Aviary
Aviary strikes a balance between serious and playful
Aviary is a very pleasantly designed app that strikes the perfect
balance between serious photo-editing and playful photo-decoration
functions without looking bland or childish. Perhaps because it’s quite
new, the selection of filters and stickers are fairly small, so any
future updates would give this app great room for play. Tip: The Strato filter creates one of the most convincing vintage effects from all the apps tested.
26. Paper Camera
Paper Camera's interface is quirky to say the least
Filter effects aren't exactly a new thing, but Paper Camera takes a
different approach to the post effects found in the likes of Instagram.
What does it do? Well, it displays effects in real time on your camera
as you're using it. There are some neat effects on offer - including
cartoon, half tone and sketch.
Whilst it's not necessarily an app that will change your workflow or
outlook on life, Pixlr-o-matic is a nice tool for adding retro effects
to your images or photos. It has 100 effects, 280 overlays and almost
200 different borders - so for the grand cost of nada it’s worth
including in our run down.
28. 3DSteroid Pro
Create stereoscopic images with 3DSteroid Pro - and you won't get banned from the Olympics
Want to create stereoscopic 3D images from the camera on your phone?
Yes, thought so. Check out 3DSteroid Pro - an app that enables you to do
just that, with some excellent tools and a very user-friendly
interface. Tip: you can save out a high-res image but not in the free version, so it's worth forking out for the paid-for app
29. Ampergram
Ambergram is a great way to play with photos and type
Combining typography
with popular photo editor Instagram led Phillip Pastore to create
Ambergram, a cool app that enables you to create endless typographic
compositions using cool photos of fonts. You can capture and tag your
own letters, or use the app's already stellar offerings generated by the
communtiy. Tip: Letter results can be filtered by style and the location in which they were spotted.
A bit of fun to end with. At first glance we got a bit confused and
thought this was a music app... That's because it was released by electronic music duo Goldfrapp in anticipation of the release of their sixth studio album, Tales Of Us.
The app combines two of your photos using the 'double exposure'
photography technique; creating an illusory joint image. Images created
can then easily be saved to your camera roll and shared with friends via
email, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Prime Minister launched his 'Narendra Modi Mobile App' to provide
instant updates and an opportunity to receive messages and emails
directly from him. 
There is an app for pretty much everything, including ones that exercise
your gray cells and make you smarter. You use your mobile phone and
tablet for just about every purpose, so why not do it to stimulate your
mind? These 10 awesome apps will help not only strengthen your neural
networks and improve your cognitive function, but it will reduce your
risk of developing memory loss. Here goes!
