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Blink for Windows Phone updated, gets a major makeover

Sharang Sharma

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March 20, 2014

Blink for Windows Phone updated, gets a major makeover

The Windows Phone Store has no scarcity of camera related apps and Blink is one among them. The Microsoft made app that takes a flurry of shots before and after the shutter has been pressed so that you may select the best one, has been updated to version 2.4 in the Store. Here’s the official changelog:

Fresh new look: New branding and refreshed UI elements throughout the app.
Dual Modes: Switch easily between two modes – Blink mode to edit and share your animations, and still mode to save and share the perfect shot.
Focus Lock: Tap on the screen to lock focus in that the region. That region will always remain in focus even across phone movements. Tap again to unlock.
Improved stabilization: Even better video stabilization so that your Blinks play without any camera shake or jitter.
Live Tile: Pin Blink to the start screen and see your perfect shots on the live Tile. (Note: might require a phone reboot or a unpin/re-pin for live tile to start showing.)
My Blinks: A new gallery view in the Blink roll to quickly jump among captured Blinks.
Tutorial: An interactive tutorial is included to quickly get you going.
Orientation lock: Bug fix to orient Blinks correctly on sharing, under orientation lock.

Well, that’s a lot of changes for one update. Not only does the app look much better post update, but also adds new features like orientation lock, dual modes and improved video stabilization. You can then share your best still or GIF video on Facebook, Twitter, OneDrive or Blink.so.cl social network. You can try the app for free by downloading it from here, or scanning the QR code below.

Nokia MixRadio gets UI improvements and new features in the latest update

Sharang Sharma

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March 20, 2014

0

Nokia MixRadio gets UI improvements and new features in the latest update

Nokia MixRadio (formerly known as as Nokia Music) is a nice to have app on Windows Phone. Today, the app has received an update that brings some UI changes along with improvements to offline mixes and bug fixes. Here’s the changelog to version 4.3.0.287:

Improvements to offline mixes: time remaining before expiry is shown, mixes become playable before they have completely downloaded, mixes remain playable while being refreshed.
Navigate Home from any page in the app.
Navigate to the Player from any page in the app.
Bug fixes and performance improvements.

The new UI improvements include a new button on the top left that takes you back to the main screen of the app. There’s also a new timer in the upper right that shows the duration of the song played. The offline mixes now show the time remaining before expiry. Mixes can now also be played while being downloaded.

You can get the Nokia MixRadio for free from the Windows Phone Store here. It’s one solid alternative to Xbox Music.

Google Search can now launch camera on your Android device through voice commands

Android
News

Sharang Sharma

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March 20, 2014

0

Google Search can now launch camera on your Android device through voice commands

Sometimes there are things that although redundant, are nonetheless cool to have. The latest additions to the Google Search app on Android fall into this category. Google has added two new voice shortcuts to the app, that allow it to open the camera or record a video.

To click a photograph, users need to say, “Ok Google,” followed by “Take a picture” and lo, the camera app on your Android tablet or phone will be launched. Similarly, to record a video, “Ok Google” needs to be followed with ” Record a video”. As awesome as that sounds, having a camera shortcut on your home screen or lock screen will any day be quicker and less burdensome. You might be able to save a few seconds on the video, but then again not much of a convenience. Still, it’s not bad to have such features integrated into Google Now.

[Source]

Instagram on Windows Phone gets updated, adds Lock screen support

Sharang Sharma

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March 18, 2014

0

Instagram on Windows Phone gets updated, adds Lock screen support

Instagram, or Instagram Beta as it is called on Windows Phone, still lacks on a lot of features when compared to its iOS and Android counterparts. However, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t getting any attention at all. The app has just been updated to version 0.4. The biggest change with the update is the support for Lock screen.

The update will allow the app to fill your Lock screen with pics from either your friends feed, or your own feed. The home feed will automatically update with new pictures that are being shared by the people you’re following. The feature can be accessed in the settings menu of the app.

Meanwhile, the update also brings minor bug fixes and other enhancements. You can grab Instagram Beta for free on the Windows Phone Store here, or can simply scan the QR code below.

Microsoft to launch Office for iPad on March 27th

iOS
News

Sharang Sharma

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March 18, 2014

0

Microsoft to launch Office for iPad on March 27th

With Apple dominant position in the tablet market, it seems like Microsoft has chosen to bring Office to the slate, rather than waiting for consumers to flock to Windows tablets instead. The company will be launching an iPad app of Office on March 27th.

However, the app isn’t likely to be the one users have been waiting for. Instead, it’ll be similar to the one available for iPhone users, wherein customers will be required to have access to Office 365 in order to use the app. The app will then allow users to create Excel and Word files on iPad and view and edit spreadsheets, docs and Powerpoint files on Microsoft’s cloud services, or ones that are pinned to emails. These files will then be saved in the cloud, allowing users to pick them on another system. Also, the app will most likely not allow users to create new Powerpoint decks.

Like its iPhone counterpart, the app is expected to be free.

[Source]

Angry Birds Epic launched on iOS in Canada, Australia and New Zealand

iOS
News

Sharang Sharma

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March 18, 2014

0

Angry Birds Epic launched on iOS in Canada, Australia and New Zealand

A few days back, Rovio teased us with a trailer of an upcoming Angry Birds game. The game is here finally and is called Angry Birds Epic. What’s epic about it is the fact that unlike the bird slinging action in the past games of the franchise, this one is an RPG titles. Yes, you will actually be able to nurture and harness your birds. Angry Birds Epic is available on iOS in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Users will be able to craft their own weapons as well as upgrade abilities, armor and potions in the game. The battles will be turn based where the bird forces that will be on your team will take on none other than their old time enemies, the green pigs.

Unfortunately the game is free. We say that’s sad because that means it will be riddles with plenty of in app purchases and paid commercial content. We’ve seen how it made Angry Birds Go a mediocre, when the game held so much potential.

The launch is a soft launch and the game will be released on other platforms and in other regions in the coming days. You can grab the game on iOS devices in the three countries here.

VLC for Windows 8 receives its first update

Sharang Sharma

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March 17, 2014

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VLC for Windows 8 receives its first update

After a long while, VLC finally hit Windows Store last week, although not without bugs. Now VLC has released the first update to its beta app fixing a lot of issues that came with the original release. Most important among them is the fix to the crashing of the app at start up. The update also brings other stability issues and fixes on the audio side.

The team has said that it will be bringing the next update to the app next week. Well, that’s good to hear for sure. You can grab VLC from the Windows Store here.

Facebok Beta for Windows Phone updated

Sharang Sharma

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March 17, 2014

0

Facebook Beta, which is the first on Windows Phone to get any kinds of updates and new features has just received another round of update. The app has been pushed to version number 5.2.3.1. The update brings the usual bug fixes along with performance improvements. Here’s the full changelog for the update:

Faster and more reliable notifications
Toasts for Facebook chat
Redesigned primary tile
Redesigned secondary tiles for chat, events, groups, pages, and photo albums
Messaging improvements
Performance improvements
Support for additional languages

Well, it’s good to see Facebook app on Windows Phone coming up to speed with its iOS and Android counterparts. There’s still quite a way to go, but then there’s progress. You can get Facebook Beta for Windows Phone in the store here. You can also scan the QR code below.

Firefox for Windows 8 a dead project thanks to little user interest

News
Windows

Sharang Sharma

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March 15, 2014

0

Firefox for Windows 8 a dead project thanks to little user interest

Firefox for Windows 8 with a modern UI was released last month as an open beta after several rounds of updates. Unfortunately, that’ll be the end of the story for the app on the platform since Mozilla has announced that it is pulling the plug on the port for Windows 8. The reason? Lack of user interest. Here’s what the company had to say:

“In the months since, as the team built and tested and refined the product, we’ve been watching Metro’s adoption. From what we can see, it’s pretty flat. On any given day we have, for instance, millions of people testing pre-release versions of Firefox desktop, but we’ve never seen more than 1000 active daily users in the Metro environment.”

This means that if Firefox gets launched on Windows 8, it’ll be riddled with bugs due to little user testing, which will impact user experience and would be a pain for the company to get fixed. The company also said that it had no plans to bring back the project to life anytime soon. You can still use the desktop version of the app though.

The move does show that Windows 8’s Metro UI isn’t gaining the traction Microsoft had hoped for.

[Source]

Nokia Refocus app now available for all Lumia handsets

Sharang Sharma

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March 14, 2014

0

Nokia Refocus app now available for all Lumia handsets

Nokia Refocus is one the more interesting camera apps from Nokia. It allows users to change the point of focus in an image after it has been clicked. Although the app has been available in Windows Phone Store since last year, until today, it was exclusive to Pureview branded devices. However, Nokia has today released the app for all Lumia handsets.

Nokia Refocus allows users to create brokeh effects on the images clicked by their WP devices after the image has been clicked. All users need to do is hold the phone steady while taking the photograph (it takes a second or two) and the rest of the magic is done by Nokia’s algorithms. It is something we first saw on the Lytro camera.

The app is available for free and can be picked from the Windows Phone Store here. If you have some doubts about it, you can check it in action below.