PocketGuide partners with hip, global travel group for Latin American expansion

The last few weeks of summer are upon us! In case you missed our post at the start of the season, read up about how summer sparks creativity. Take moments to enjoy the natural world around you; find action in relaxation and you’ll find the necessary inspiration for innovation. Most importantly, travel!

Put down the heavy city guidebook and your mediocre map, PocketGuide , a new travel application from GPS City Guide, Hungary-based start-up, covers all this and even has voice instructions. The app runs on GPS positioning and will tell you interesting stories and relevant information as you travel throughout a city- just like a personal tour guide. And best of all, once the app is downloaded, you don’t need a WiFi internet connection to use it. PocketGuide also enables users to make stunning 3D travel videos – merging Google Earth map, personal photos, videos and the user’s voice recordings and then share the videos via email or Facebook. As of August 2011, PocketGuide covers the top 20 European destinations featuring 10 different trails and 500 attractions.

Watch the video here for a full demo:


Pocket Guide

To expand into the Latin America market, PocketGuide has just finalized a strategic partnership with Washington, DC-based Croft Global Travel. Founder Ryan Croft was appointed Director of Latin America and will oversee the launch of all future Latin America destinations, starting with the most popular cities in South America. “We’re excited to join the PocketGuide team,” says Croft. “The PocketGuide app’s technology represents the future of connected international travel.” Croft also runs a daily deals company aimed at tech savvy travelers called CityCiao, which we covered this spring.


Pocket Guide from Pocketguide on Vimeo.
PocketGuide is available for iOS, Android and Symbian based mobiles. Download here.

Also read: 10 Must-Have Travel Apps for your iOS device and Best of 2010: Travel Apps for the iPhone

4 Fantastic iPhone Cases for iPhotographers [PICS]

Among the many cases available for the iPhone, we found several functional and clever cases created especially for iPhotographers. Interested to see how the cases could aid iPhone photography, we tried and tested four options.
We looked at a branded case from iPhone’s hippest photography app, a case that adds a fish-eye lens, one with built-in tripod attachment and another that transforms your iPhone into an underwater camera.
Take a look through the photo galleries to see our exclusive gadget photos and sample pics, and let us know in the comments which cases you’d be tempted to try — and why.

Hipstamatic Hipstacase 100

The Hipstacase 100 from Hipstamatic and Agent18 gives your iPhone that retro camera appearance, making it the perfect accessory for your cool, vintage lifestyle. It's available now for $39.95.

The Clip-On Case

The iPhone 4 snaps into the case. From the front you'd never know you'd just transformed your phone into a retro camera.

The Faux Camera Facade

The back is where it all happens. A fake flash, fake lens, fake textured band and, of course, the Hipstamatic logo are molded into the plastic .

The Wristlet

The included 'wristlet' provides an alternative way to carry your iPhone. Or is it supposed to be ironic? We're not hip enough to know, but it's bundled in, so you can decide.

The Tripod Adapter

The tripod adapter slides into a slit in the hollow 'lens.' In landscape mode it just about feels secure...

In Portrait Position

... but in portrait position, we would only risk using it in indoor/controlled conditions, for fear of it sliding out.

The FishEYE iPhone Cover

The Thumbs Up FishEYE iPhone Cover gives your iPhone a fish-eye view of the world. The plain black case comes with a detachable lens, available from Firebox for £21,49, 24 euros, or $35.

Front View

The case doesn't intrude on the front of the phone, leaving all ports free too.

The Case

With the lens removed, the case remains a fairly unobtrusive black cover.

The Lens

The lens screws onto the case.

Sample Image

As one would expect, we immediately tried to capture humorous images of our pets. Don't pretend you wouldn't do the same.

Sample Image

The lens gives you a round perspective to play with.

Sample Image

We were pleased that colors and image quality weren't too altered by the addition of the lens.

Sample Image

The distortion means you can get creative, although it's really a novelty, rather than a useful addition to your iPhotography kit.

Sample Image

And of course, the classic big-nose fish eye portrait is a must-snap image.

The Joy Factory RainBallet iPhone 4 Case

The RainBallet boasts shock and waterproof protection for your iPhone 4. You can use it as a rugged case or, Joy claims, convert your phone into an underwater camera. It's available now for $49.95.

Test Before Use!

Our trepidation at submerging our perfectly good iPhone 4 in water was increased by the warning sticker on the front of the case urging us to test before use. Isn't that the manufacturer's job?

The Joy RainBallet

The RainBallet is chunky. Shown here next to the iPhone, you can see how much bulk it will add to the device, but it may be an appropriate trade-off for the protection.

The Fit

The iPhone fits snugly into the front half of the case.

The Back of the Case

The back of the case locks shut with three screws.

The Strap

The sturdy strap secures onto the bottom of the case, complete with a thin metal disk designed to open and close the case's screws.

The Underwater Test

Sadly the Mashable budget didn't allow for a snorkelling trip, so we dunked our iPhone 4 into a river instead. Not a drop of water got through the case.

Sample Shot

We struggled with pressing the camera button through the case when underwater. Instead we grabbed this shot with the iPhone's camera underwater and the button out of water. Therefore, we find Joy's claim of being able to convert your phone into a fully-fledged underwater camera a little optimistic. However, the RainBallet will definitely protect your iPhone from agua, dust, dirt and to a certain extent, your own clumsiness.

The XShot iPhone 4 Case

The XShot iPhone 4 Case comes with a detachable tripod adapter for a universal 1/4' screw and a 'Flex Mini Tripod.' It costs $29.95.

From the Front

The case protrudes slightly over the front of the iPhone, which means your screen is slightly set back and protected if you put it face down.

The Case Is In Two Parts

With access to all ports and buttons, the case comes in two parts which snap together when on the iPhone. It feels like good quality and boasts a soft-touch finish that feels nice in the hand.

The Detachable Tripod Mount

The bundled tripod mount securely slides into a groove on the side of the case.

The Mini Tripod and Mount

The Flex Mini Tripod is sturdy, and again, feels like good quality. Overall the XShot system is a tidy, value-conscious solution for iPhotographers who desire extra stability on the go.

Bolsa de telefone

Mulheres amam bolsas (e sapatos), não há o que discutir! E com a quantidade cada vez maior de gadgets, porque não juntar as duas coisas?! Foi pensando nisso que Jin Woog Koo criou esta versão de bolsa feita especialmente para a mulherada carregar smartphones cheias de estilo. Com várias cores e padronagens, o 'i-Handbag' permite combinações entre roupas, sapatos, etc e com a facilidade de não precisar tirar o aparelho para usar. O projeto ainda está em desenvolvimento, mas se depender da vontade das mulheres de ter sempre mais e mais bolsas, o sucesso vai ser garantido. 'Femininamente legaus'!

Link

Book-like iPhone Case Doubles as Wallet [VIDEO]

In a world full of excellent iPhone 4 cases, Twelve South’s new BookBook for iPhone might just one of the most versatile.

Like the BookBook for the MacBook Pro and iPad, the BookBook for iPhone is designed to mimic a real vintage, leather-bound book. In addition to looking stylish, however, the BookBook for iPhone also acts as a fully functional wallet.





Even better, unlike some other iPhone wallet cases, the phone can actually be used comfortably while inside the case. For comparison’s sake, I’ve balked at purchasing this Michael Kors iPhone wallet clutch because it was too rigid to use with a camera or while talking on the phone.





The BookBook for iPhone is $59.99.

iPhone case has cross-stitched back

A confession: For a short time as a kid, I was actually into cross stitching. Not that far into it, but I did enjoy the routine that turned into art, the pattern-following that, when combined with the right thread or yarn and the correct stitches, turned into a nice piece of handmade art. That's probably why I like this iPhone case so much -- it's a case that has a part on the back you can cross-stitch into, allowing you to put together your own pattern.


The pink probably isn't something I'd go for, but the case comes in a few different colors, and you can choose whatever pattern you'd like for yourself. The price is in British pounds, but it comes to about US $28 after conversion -- not cheap, but then again, this is a one of a kind case you'd be making, something no one else would have. I like the idea a lot; maybe it would be a good way for me to rediscover my old cross-stitching talents.

iPhone case has cross-stitched back originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 14 Jul 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Private Messaging iPhone App Auto-Organizes Your Friends Into Groups

Google+’s Circle-driven social network tasks its users to manually dump their friends into buckets. But what if it could auto-determine those groups instead?
That is the promise of Katango — the sFund-backed friend relationship management startup formerly called CafeBots — and its powerful people-sorting algorithms.
Tuesday, the startup is launching Katango for iPhone to help mobile users bridge group communication across Facebook, email and SMS, and do so in a more natural fashion.
Katango for iPhone is a group and private messaging application that automatically groups together your contacts by life stage or activity. So groupings will include family members, high school friends, college buddies, co-workers and so forth.
“The charter of sFund companies to think about how to rebuild social from the ground up,” says Yee Lee, Katango’s VP of Product. “Just having one flat social graph isn’t nuanced enough. It’s really important, we think, to have another layer on top of the social graph that is the meta structure of people who really talk together for different reasons.”
That layer is Katango’s algorithms for social organization, which can now be seen in action in the iPhone application.
The application plucks out your address book contacts and Facebook friends and organizes these folks into groups based on patterns of previous social interactions. You can then tweak the groups to your liking and start sending photos or messages to particular groups.
The iPhone app is structured into two tabs: Inbox and Groups. New users will land on the Groups tab and first see the results of Katango’s auto-structuring, with friends’ faces highlighted in horizontal scrolling filmstrips. Here you can click the compose icon to post photos and messages to group members. The Inbox serves as a feed of activity where you can see responses and follow group threads.
How and where messages are delivered via Katango’s iPhone app is quite unique as well. An iPhone address book contact will receive content via email or SMS and a Facebook friend will receive a photo or message as a privately locked-down wall post on Facebook.
With Katango for iPhone, siloed modes of communication — Facebook user to Facebook user, for instance — are out. “The user really shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore,” says Lee.
Katango for iPhone is just the startup’s initial release of its social organization technology. A similar Android client is on the immediate roadmap, and Lee says that Katango has broader plans to help people use their auto-created groups as viewing filters for Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter stream activity.
“Social search is also an interesting idea,” Lee says. “A lot of companies are usual social search as a content discovery mechanism. We’re thinking of it in terms of actual search for people. If you were to type in “kiteboarding” and be able to get back a list of your friends who are into kiteboarding, that’s a really interesting and exciting functionality we’d like to bring to market” he explains.
Katango was founded as CafeBots in 2010. It was the first startup to receive funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’ sFund.

Inbox

Groups

Message Group

Compose Message

Private Message to Group

iOS 5 Beta 3 introduces new gestures that bypass the home button

Apple has today released the latest version of the iOS 5 beta, bringing along a host of bug fixes and some new features. One of those new features, as detailed by Chris Oldroyd over at TiPB, is a new gesture system that is part of iOS 5′s Accessibility features.
The gesture system is a control panel, enabled inside AssistiveTouch that allows you to assign gestures to the functions of all of the existing hardware buttons, thereby removing any need, aside from emergencies, for the home, power or volume buttons on the iPhone and iPad.

The feature places a tappable zone in the bottom corner of the screen that opens the control panel. The resulting panel allows you to trigger the home button, pick from multi-finger gestures or create your own to perform actions. As you create gestures, you can find them under the Favorites section allowing you to see them on-screen as an overlay.



The Device menu lets you perform some operations that you’d normally use buttons for like locking the screen and increasing or decreasing volume. These controls are already available in the multitasking drawer, but this would be a great way to get at them if the iPad was being used in a display environment or in a rack that covered the home button. Think public displays in museums or mounted in a cockpit.

There are also a couple of controls like screen rotation and shake that emulate motion triggers of the accelerometers inside the device. You can see them in action via this video created by 9to5Mac:



When multitouch gestures that enabled app switching, closing and access to the multitasking drawer appeared in iOS 4.3.3, people were quick to jump on it as evidence that Apple might be doing away with the home button. It would be tempting to see something like this as another telltale sign. But the fact that it’s located in the Accessibility menu should tell you how Apple thinks about these features.

They should be looked at as one more way that Apple excels at offering incredibly good accessibility features to the impaired user, an area in which it is tremendously better than almost any other mobile device on the market. This feature could also be used in special use cases where the hardware buttons would be made inaccessible due to obstruction or perhaps security concerns.TiPB

Make your Mac, iPhone or iPad 2 transparent

Photojojo details an easy set of instructions that will let you create eye-catching photo-in-photo transparent images like the one shown above. You don't need a fancy camera or expensive software. All you need is a few extra gadgets, some creativity and a helper to snap the photos.


The process to create a transparent photo like the one above is quite easy: your helpful assistant takes a succession of photos, starting with the closeup of your eyes, and then you display the photo in position on the iPhone when you take the next shot, which gets displayed on the iPad... you get the idea. Check out Photojojo for the detailed rundown.


This is just one example. You can use this technique with different gadgets and additional layers to create captivating images. Experiment and enjoy!

Make your Mac, iPhone or iPad 2 transparent originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.\

New iPhone commercials feature FaceTime and AirPlay

Apple has aired two new iPhone commercials. The first features the capabilities of FaceTime on the iPhone. It shows users video chatting via FaceTime iPhone to iPhone, iPhone to MacBook Air, and iPhone to iPad.

The second iPhone commercial showcases the iPhone's AirPlay features. The commercial shows a user streaming music from an iPhone to their stereo, and pictures and video to their TV. The ads are part of Apple's 'If you don't have an iPhone' series. Both commercials can be view below and are also available on Apple's YouTube channel.

New iPhone commercials feature FaceTime and AirPlay originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This wedding was shot entirely on the iPhone 4

As a wedding photographer, I’ve often fantasized about shooting an entire wedding on an iPhone. I’ve even contributed shots from iPhones to albums and videos. Fantasizing about it wasn’t enough for the creators of this wedding video discovered by iPhone Download Blog. They went and shot an entire wedding on iPhone 4′s, including video and stills.



If you look carefully you can see evidence that they’re using some sort of lens attachments to get fisheye effects on some shots. Many of the images look like they got a bit of a brush up in Photoshop too.

I can tell you from personal experience that the iPhone 4 is an incredible pocket camera, I’ve been using it as my point-and-shoot for months now. You can easily blow up shots 12×18″ or even a tad larger, so I don’t think that this couple will have any trouble getting decent prints. Heck, the video montage alone looks like it turned out great.iPhone Download Blog

Are Samsung’s Mobile Designs Really That Similar to Apple’s? [PICS]

Apple has amended and expanded its intellectual property right complaint against Samsung to include more products and more patents.
In April, Apple filed suit against the Korean giant, alleging that products like the Galaxy S series of smartphones and the original Galaxy Tab copied the look and feel of Apple products, violating the Cupertino company’s patents and intellectual property.
In the amended complaint, Apple has added a number of handsets — including Droid Charge 4G (which Mashable recently reviewed) and the Galaxy S II.
We decided to take a look at some of the Samsung products Apple claims violate its intellectual property to see just how similar the design and UI aesthetic is to the big fruit.

The Original iPhone

Apple released the first iPhone in June 2007. The mobile world was turned on its head and the aesthetics and designs of mobile phones and operating systems was forever changed.

Samsung BlackJack 2

This is the smartphone Samsung was selling in 2007, the BlackJack 2.

Samsung Galaxy S

This is the Samsung Galaxy S, which debuted in 2010.
Look like anything you've seen before?

The iPhone 3G

Released in 2008, the iPhone 3G differed only slightly from its predecessor but had a slightly different back/side-housing.

Samsung Showcase i500

The Samsung Showcase i500 was released in 2011 and shares similarities with the form factor and aesthetic of the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3GS

Released in 2009, the iPhone 3GS looks identical to the iPhone 3G, but was significantly faster under the hood.

Verizon Droid Charge

Apple recently amended its lawsuit against Samsung to include the recently released Droid Charge in the list of infringing devices.

Sprint Epic 4G

Sprint's version of the Galaxy S was the only version to include a slide-out keyboard. Nevertheless, Apple still included the Epic 4G in its list of infringing devices.

The Nexus S 4G

Google's Nexus S and Nexus S 4G devices have a curved glass screen but also share a similar shape and icon layout as the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS series.

Galaxy S Captivate

The application bar in the TouchWiz interface in the Galaxy S Captivate from AT&T bears more than a passing resemblance to Apple's iOS.

Galaxy S 4G

T-Mobile's Galaxy S 4G shares lots of similarities with earlier iPhone devices
.

Galaxy S Vibrant

T-Mobile's first Galaxy S device, the Vibrant, also shares a similar body style as the iPhone 3GS.

iPhone 4

Apple released the iPhone 4 in June 2010. It's industrial design was unlike anything else on the market.

Galaxy S II

The Galaxy S II is starting to hit stores in Europe and Asia and the well-reviewed smartphone looks very similar to the iPhone 4.

AT&T Infuse 4G

Likewise, AT&T's Infuse 4G looks very similar to the body style and button layout as the iPhone 4.

The iPad

The iPad was first released in March 2010 and managed to reboot the entire tablet PC market.
The design, which many criticized as simply being an oversized iPod touch, was unlike any other tablet computer on the market.

Galaxy Tab 4G

Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Galaxy Tab 4G was originally released in a 7' form factor.
Slower than expected sales convinced Samsung to reconsider their size strategy.

iPad 2

The iPad 2 was released in March 2011 and has managed to sell out in every market.
Thinner than its predecessor, while still retaining the same beautiful screen, the devices is currently dominating the tablet market.

Galaxy Tab 10.1

Samsung went back to the drawing board and re-designed the Galaxy Tab 10.1 after showing it off at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, 2011.
The final version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is thin -- Samsung claims it's thinner than the iPad 2 -- and it certainly looks similar to the Apple device.
[via MacRumors]